


When It Don't Come Easy

by frakkingtoaster



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/F, Friendship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-27
Updated: 2021-02-27
Packaged: 2021-03-18 10:08:01
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,810
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29732253
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/frakkingtoaster/pseuds/frakkingtoaster
Summary: On the tenth anniversary of Satine's death, Ahsoka receives a worried call from the Mandalorians when Bo-Katan goes missing. Even after finding her friend, Ahsoka finds that it isn't that easy to get an upset and drunk Mandalorian home.A one-shot based on a one-liner from "This is the Way", where Ahsoka remembers that Bo-Katan had once called her "cyar'ika" when she was drunk after starting a bar fight.
Relationships: Bo-Katan Kryze & Ahsoka Tano, Bo-Katan Kryze & Satine Kryze
Comments: 3
Kudos: 16





	When It Don't Come Easy

_9 BBY_

“Damn it,” Ahsoka curses as she hears the incessant beeping of her commlink. She ducks a blaster bolt flying her way, and deflects another with her lightsaber.

She can barely focus on fighting her way past this unit of troopers, without the irritating beeping noise in her ear. With a growl of frustration, she ducks behind a wall and palms the commlink button. “What!” she shouts.

“Have you forgotten how to answer a damn call!” Maya’s annoyed voice comes over the line.

Ahsoka could punch her friend in the face right now. “I’m a little busy right now!” 

Maya falls silent, and Ahsoka supposes she can probably hear the blaster fire and shouting in the background. “Ahsoka, are you alright?” she asks quietly, intensely.

Ahsoka’s own irritation dissipates. “I’ll be fine. I’ll call you back as soon as I’m done, okay?”

“Where are you? We can come to you - “

Ahsoka shifts to a better position behind the wall, hiding from the blaster bolts. “Don’t worry about me, I’ll be done in thirty minutes, tops.” She hears a disbelieving scoff from the other end. “Trust me, I’ll be okay. I’ll call you back asap.”

There’s a heavy sigh on the other end of the line. “Fine. But if you need help, just say the word.” The line clicks off. Ahsoka takes a deep breath, and focuses back on the task at hand.

True to her word, in less than twenty minutes, Ahsoka dispatches the unit of troopers easily. After downloading the files she was looking for, she heads back towards her ship. It’s only when her ship leaves the atmosphere of the planet that she calls Maya back. Almost immediately, the holo-image of her friend shimmers to life.

“Stars, what happened to you?” Ahsoka exclaims.

The woman looks like she just went ten rounds in a cage fight with a much larger and better opponent. Both her eyes are blackened, likely from what a broken nose, her lip is split, and there’s a large gash on her cheek.

“What the hell happened to you?” Ahsoka asks again, stunned.

Maya opens her mouth to respond, when Ursa suddenly appears in the frame and answers the question for her. “Bo is what happened,” she says curtly.

Utterly confused, Ahsoka gapes at her. “What - why?“

Looking annoyed at having been interrupted, Maya rushes to explain. “It’s my fault. Bo was having what looked like a really bad nightmare, I tried to wake her up, and uh, this happened.” She gestures at her face with a wry smile, then wincing when the movement tugs at her injuries.

“It’s not your fault, Maya,” Ursa chides her gently.

“Yeah well, I should know better than to try to wake her up when her nightmares get that bad.”

Ursa sighs and turns to Ahsoka. “It took a while before the rest of us found out what was happening and dragged her off Maya.”

Ahsoka sighs, and rubs at her temples. She knows Bo-Katan well enough to know that she’s probably locked herself somewhere, stewing in guilt and self-loathing. “So why’d you call me?”

Ursa and Maya exchange a pointed look, before Maya responds. “She took a ship and jumped away, we don’t know exactly where she is, except that she’s in the Yavin system, somewhere.”

“Damn.”

“She’s drunk, she’s upset, she’s gone off to goodness knows where,” Ursa says with the shake of her head. “Ahsoka, you know the Yavin system well, any idea where she could have gone? Because hell, we need to find her before the Empire does.”

Ahsoka falls silent for a moment as she racks her brain. “I’ve got a few places in mind, I can share a list with you, and we can split them among us to go search for her.”

“Sounds good,” Maya says, perking up at the idea of having some leads, and straightens up, but Ursa places a firm hand on her shoulder.

“No, you’re staying put.”

Maya shoots her an annoyed glance. “I’m fine.“

“No you're not fine. She gave you a karking concussion and cracked ribs, you’re staying here,” Ursa growls at her, her tone brooking no disagreement.

“We’ll find her, don’t worry, Maya,” Ahsoka tries to reassure her, but the other woman cuts a frustrated figure, slumping protectively over her left side on her cot.

Ursa claps her hands together. “Excellent, Ahsoka, can you stay on the line, I want to discuss how to split the list with you.” She turns to Maya, and squeezes her shoulder. “I’ll let you know once we have an update, _ner vod,_ don’t worry.”

Once she’s out of earshot from Maya’s room, Ursa turns to Ahsoka, her expression stern. “It’s imperative that we find Bo immediately. She’s in an absolutely terrible frame of mind. You know what day it is today right?”

Ahsoka frowns, trying to think of significant days in Bo-Katan’s life, or Mandalore’s history, before she remembers, and her heart sinks. The dismay on her face must show because Ursa hums. “So, you do remember. Today marks the tenth year. I know she was up drinking last night, because a few empty bottles of tihaar were found in her quarters.” She sighs, and her voice drops in volume. “Ahsoka, she could have killed Maya if we hadn’t stopped her, what with Maya being stupidly unwilling to fight her.”

Ahsoka’s heart constricts in her chest. 

“She was yelling about Maul, about Pre. This day has always been hard for her, but I’ve never, _never,_ seen her like this before. What happened to Maya is just going to make it worse. She’s a danger to herself and others.”

“I understand, Ursa, I really do,” Ahsoka says softly. She looks down at her datapad, selects a few locations and sends their coordinates to Ursa. “Okay, I think they’re logically five places she could be at in the Yavin system. How many ships can you send out?”

“I can send out three ships, but locations three and four are fairly close to one another, I can hit those two,” Ursa says after looking at the coordinates.

“Sounds good to me.” Ahsoka nods.

“Excellent. We’ll keep in contact over this channel then.”

“Godspeed, Ursa.”

Ursa smiles at her. _“K’oyacyi.”_

Ahsoka can’t believe her luck when she lands on Yavin 5 two hours later and spots Bo-Katan’s ship in the main yard when she arrives.

Approaching the ship, she realizes that it’s completely powered down, and Bo-Katan is nowhere to be found.

“Looking for somebody?”

She spins around to see a Twi’lek standing there, hands on his hips. "I'm the dockmaster. You looking for somebody?” he repeats.

“Oh, I was just admiring the ship,” Ahsoka lies smoothly.

The dockmaster snorts. “Well, I doubt you'll be able to get this ship off its owner, unless you wanna fight a Mandalorian,” his voice drops conspiratorially.

_Bingo._

“Well, I’m not too sure about the odds, but I’ll be willing to see what the Mandalorian is willing to pay for it, or fight for it,” Ahsoka says.

“It’s your neck on the line,” he replies with a shrug. “But she went that way, towards the cantina.” Ahsoka nods appreciatively at him, and heads towards the cantina.

She throws up her hood and enters the cantina, keeping her eyes peeled for troopers, and Bo-Katan.

It doesn’t take long for her to find her target. At the dark corner of the bar, dressed in her dark cloak, Bo-Katan is slouched on a seat, nursing a drink and a near-empty bottle of spotchka. She looks miserable, head propped up against her hand, and is clearly trying to make herself as inconspicuous as possible.

Satisfied that Bo-Katan is safe, Ahsoka walks back out, and when she finds a quiet spot, calls Ursa over the commlink.

“You found her?” Ursa asks immediately after answering the call.

“Yup. I’m at a cantina on Yavin 5.”

Ursa huffs a loud sigh of relief. “That’s good. You getting her out?”

“I’ll figure out a way to get her out without drawing attention to ourselves.”

Ursa grunts. “Alright, I’ll let the others know. Get home safe, you two.”

“Copy that. See you soon,” Ahsoka says, and switches off her commlink. Walking back to the cantina, she curses in dismay when she sees a Devaronian now two seats away from Bo-Katan, talking smack to a young, terrified-looking Togruta on the seat next to Bo-Katan.

“How about you leave the kid alone?” Bo-Katan growls at the Devaronian, not even bothering to look at him. 

The Devaronian turns to her, a malicious look on his face. “I’ll talk to whoever I want, bitch. Mind your own business.”

Bo-Katan continues to keep her gaze fixed forward, and throws the rest of her drink back, then gestures to the bartender for another one. Her lack of response to the Devaronian seems to irritate him, and he leans closer to her, over the Togruta. His eyes rake over her body, noting the glint of beskar underneath her cloak.

“But what’s a Mandalorian doing out here anyway? I’ve been watching you, you’ve been here a while. Just sitting there, drinking and drinking and drinking. Don’t you have better things to do? Bounty hunting or something?”

Again, Bo-Katan pointedly ignores him, and takes another gulp of her drink. Ahsoka continues to linger by the back of the cantina, wondering whether, or rather when, she should intervene. Bo-Katan certainly hasn’t realized her presence yet.

After another long moment of silence, the Devaronian grows angry. “Bitch, are you deaf?”

Bo-Katan’s only response is to finish her drink and reach for the bottle that the bartender has left behind for her.

Infuriated, the Devaronian snaps and slaps the bottle out of Bo-Katan’s hand, and the glass smashes on the table. “Bitch, I’m talking to you!”

Eyes flashing, Bo-Katan leaps to her feet, and sways a little as the alcohol rushes to her head. “You shouldn’t have done that,” she snarls, then turns to the terrified Togruta. “Go kid, get outta here.” Her angry green eyes return to the Devaronian.

“And what if I did?” the Devaronian sneers at her. “Not like you Mandalorians have much of a spine anyway, letting the Empire step all over you.”

With a furious growl, Bo-Katan lunges at him, tackling him to the floor.

“Karabast,” Ahsoka groans, as the cantina erupts into chaos. Some patrons are stumbling over one another to get out, some start crowding around the two combatants to get a closer look, while others start engaging in their own fights.

Even highly inebriated, Bo-Katan is still a tremendously skilled fighter. Although he manages to land a wicked right hook on Bo-Katan, she ducks the next flurry of punches and easily dispatches him with a well-timed roundhouse kick.

Standing victoriously over the unconscious Devaronian, Bo-Katan barely has a chance to catch her breath when his companions rush her. A Rodian seizes her, trying to keep her arms pinned to her side, while another Devaronian wails on her, fists flying.

Ahsoka can’t decide if she’s proud or frustrated with Bo-Katan for not using her blaster on her attackers. Despite the blows raining down on her, she manages to kick the other Devaronian away, breaks free of the Rodian’s grip, and lands a jab on his nose, only to stagger forward when the Devaronian swings a stool at her, catching her flush on the back of her head.

“Damn it, Bo,” Ahsoka mutters to herself, as she leaps onto the bar table. Towering over the combatants, she pulls out a blaster and fires a warning shot into the ceiling, then levels it at the Devaronian.

“Drop it, and back away,” she warns him commandingly. The muzzle turns on the Rodian next. “Get out of here, all of you.”

The Devaronian opens his mouth to retort, but Ahsoka produces a second blaster and levels it at him. “Did I stutter?” she asks coldly.

Looking terrified at the tall imposing Togruta with her blasters, the Devaronian and Rodian pick up their unconscious companion and scatter out of the cantina, while the other patrons slink back to their seats. Satisfied, Ahsoka walks off the bar and drops lightly next to Bo-Katan, who’s slowly picking herself up off the floor.

To Ahsoka’s complete surprise and displeasure, Bo-Katan ignores her, and instead sits back down onto her bar stool, reaching for a fresh bottle of spotchka, which the bartender numbly hands over to her.

“You’re kidding me right?” Ahsoka can’t help the annoyance and anger that bleeds into her tone. Her uncharacteristic anger gets Bo-Katan’s attention, however brief it is. But her gaze quickly drops back down to the glass in her hand, as she tips the glass back, sighing as the alcohol burns her throat, and eases the ache in her heart.

“You’re welcome, by the way,” Ahsoka growls at her.

“I didn’t ask you to come,” Bo-Katan mutters in a surly voice. 

“No, but everyone’s worried about you,” Ahsoka hisses at her. 

Bo-Katan pours herself another glass of spotchka and tosses that back too. She finally turns to look at Ahsoka, eyes glazed over in anger and a deep-set grief. “They should be, after what I did to Maya.” She swallows heavily, and she looks away. “You should go. It’s not safe to be around me right now.”

Undeterred, Ahsoka reaches out for Bo-Katan’s hand, and can’t help the hurt that flashes across her face when Bo-Katan’s hand flinches away. She tries again, this time grasping Bo-Katan’s knee below the table. “Bo. I know what today is, okay? I know it’s hard, and it hurts like hell. What happened with Maya was an accident, and she doesn’t blame you for it. We all understand, and we - I’m here for you. Please, let’s go to your ship, and we can talk there.”

When Bo-Katan remains unresponsive, staring determinedly at the empty glass in her hand, Ahsoka squeezes her knee again. “C’mon Bo. I’d rather we get out of here before those idiots come back.”

A ghost of a smile flickers on Bo-Katan’s face as she casts Ahsoka a sideways glance. “I doubt they’ll come back, not after your little stunt.”

Ahsoka smiles slyly. “It was fun. So, let’s go?”

With a heavy sigh, Bo-Katan nods. She places the credits on the table and the bartender looks relieved that she’s finally leaving. She slips off the stool, and would have fallen flat on her face, but for Ahsoka catching her in time. “Stars, you’re heavy,” Ahsoka grunts as she pulls Bo-Katan back upright. 

Slinging Bo-Katan’s arm over her shoulder, Ahsoka walks her out of the cantina. The copious amounts of alcohol that Bo-Katan seems to have caught up with her, as her movements grow increasingly sluggish with every step she takes. 

After a while, she halts in her tracks, and bends over, hands on her knees. Ahsoka pauses for a moment, looking at her in concern. “You okay?”

Bo-Katan shakes her head, still bent over. “I’m fine, don’t worry about me, _cyar’ika.”_

Ahsoka has never been so glad for the dimly lit streets, so Bo-Katan couldn’t see the flush that has crept up her neck and cheeks. She waits a while longer for Bo-Katan to catch her breath, then helps her the rest of the way towards her ship.

Keying in the entry codes for Bo-Katan’s ship, Ahsoka palms the door open, and helps Bo-Katan up the ramp. Bo-Katan immediately collapses into the co-pilot’s chair when they enter the cockpit with a sigh. It’s only when Ahsoka flicks on the light switches in the ship that she can properly see the damage done.

A dark bruise is starting to form on her left cheek from where the Devaronian had decked her, and blood from the gash on her head from where the stool was smashed against her has matted against her hair.

“Alright, I’ll get us going on the way home, then I’ll deal with you. Have some water, in the meantime.” Ahsoka settles into the pilot’s chair, and shoves a bottle of water in her face. Bo-Katan makes a small disgruntled noise, but accepts the bottle and drinks obediently.

When the ship is finally in hyperspace, Ahsoka sets the ship to autopilot and stands up. “I’ll get the med-kit, you stay where you are.” Bo-Katan merely closes her eyes and grunts in agreement.

Ahsoka returns with the med-kit, and turns Bo-Katan’s chair around so she can have better access to the cut. “Alright, you idiot, hold still,” Ahsoka scolds her gently, as Bo-Katan flinches when she prods at the gash. “You were sloppy out there, you have only yourself to blame.”

Chastened, Bo-Katan stills, letting Ahsoka work. After cleaning the gash on her head, and dabbing some bacta on it, Ahsoka walks around to face Bo-Katan, and inspects the bruise on her cheek. She hands Bo-Katan an ice pack. “Ice it, you’ll feel better afterwards.”

Grumbling that she’s fine, Bo-Katan finally relents when Ahsoka glares at her, and presses the ice pack to her face. Ahsoka pulls her up her feet, and leads her to her quarters, forcing her to sit down on her cot, and joins her at the foot of the cot.

“Feeling better?” Ahsoka asks quietly, as Bo-Katan leans back against the bulkhead, closing her eyes briefly. Bo-Katan nods, and Ahsoka gently rubs her knee. “Get some rest, Bo. We can speak later.”

She tries to get up, but Bo-Katan catches her hand, pulling her back down. “Is Maya okay?” she asks, trepidation in her voice.

“Mostly superficial damage, I think a few cracked ribs,” Ahsoka replies, and Bo-Katan’s face twists in dismay. “Hey, she’s fine, she’ll be right as rain when you get back.”

Bo-Katan lurches forward, burying her face in her hands. “I can’t believe I did that.”

Ahsoka scoots further up the bed, throwing a comforting arm around Bo-Katan’s shoulder, pulling her in closer. “It’s not your fault, it was a bad dream, right?” Bo-Katan nods feverishly, and Ahsoka remains silent, letting her tell the story in her own time.

“It was Maul,” Bo-Katan finally says hoarsely. “I watched him kill Satine in front of me. He was laughing, there was nothing I could do to stop him.” She sniffs, wiping her tears away roughly. “Then Pre was there. It didn’t make sense, but he was there, but he did nothing. I - I couldn’t move. I felt helpless.”

She looks down again, staring at her hands, clenching and unclenching. “When I finally broke free, I tried to fight him.“ She sighs and squeezes her eyes shut. “I suppose that’s what was happening when Maya tried to wake me up.”

“Bo...”

“She’s supposed to protect me, but I was the real danger to her tonight,” Bo-Katan whispers despondently.

“You weren’t yourself, Bo,” Ahsoka says softly.

“I just miss Satine, so much.” Bo-Katan’s sudden change of direction takes Ahsoka off-guard. Then she remembers that Bo-Katan is in fact still drunk. “We will not see the likes of her again in this galaxy,” Bo-Katan continues morosely. “All for my foolishness.”

Ahsoka doesn’t reply immediately. She bends down to pick up Bo-Katan’s helmet from the floor, and places it on the bed in front of Bo-Katan, tapping the owl sigil. “But you’ve done her proud. You and your Nite Owls have done a fine job of making life difficult for the Empire all these years.”

Bo-Katan’s hand reaches out for the helmet, and her thumb rubs the sigil gently. “Maybe,” she murmurs.

“Not maybe, _definitely,”_ Ahsoka says with a small smile.

Bo-Katan sighs heavily, and sways again. Ahsoka catches her, and gently pushes her down towards the pillow. “Lie down and get some rest.” 

This time, Bo-Katan is exhausted enough to go with the motion. 

Ahsoka stands up, tucks the blanket around her, and places the helmet on the bedside table. “The owl was her favourite animal,” she murmurs, before her eyes slip shut.

“Oh Bo,” Ahsoka breathes. She had no idea, though it all made sense to her now. Bo-Katan had only painted the owl sigil on her helmet after Satine’s death. She feels her heart break, at the grief and remorse that must have driven Bo-Katan to her desperate actions to recruit Ahsoka and the Republic for aid against Maul all those years ago.

She remains standing for a while, listening to Bo-Katan’s breathing level out as she falls into a deep sleep. With a heavy sigh, she switches off the lights, and walks back to the cockpit.

Bo-Katan is still out when Ahsoka lands the ship in the Mandalorians’ hidden base. She lowers the ramp, and walks out of the cockpit to greet Ursa and Maya when they enter. 

Ahsoka shakes her head wryly at Maya, her finger reaching up to gently trace her bruised cheek. "You look slightly better than a few hours ago."

Maya huffs a small laugh. "The holo isn’t flattering."

Ursa scoffs. “It freaked Koska out a little, that’s the only real downside I suppose.”

“I told her I fell down.” Maya shrugs easily.

“She’s nine years old, Maya. I’m pretty sure she knows you didn’t fall down.” Ursa narrows her eyes.

“Hey, I’m trying to give her as much of a normal childhood as possible! Hence, this was a fall,” Maya gestures at her face, then bumps Ursa on the shoulder playfully. “I’m just learning from Mom of the year here.”

Ursa’s cheeks flame, and she groans. “Don’t even start on that.”

Maya is about to say something cheeky when her gaze flickers past Ahsoka, looking surprised. "Bo."

Ahsoka turns around. Bo-Katan is awake, and standing in the corridor, shuffling awkwardly. Out of the corner of her eye, she sees Ursa step forward slightly, she's not sure if it's instinctively or deliberately, to shield Maya from Bo-Katan’s gaze.

Bo-Katan sees this too, and her face crumples.

With a grunt of annoyance, Maya steps past both Ursa and Ahsoka towards Bo-Katan, who remains rooted to the spot, wide eyes honing in on Maya's bruised face.

"Bo, I'm okay, you see? Nothing a little bacta can’t fix," Maya says softly, encouragingly, one hand held out as though taming a wild animal. Bo-Katan takes one step back. 

“What I did was unforgivable,” Bo-Katan says, shaking her head.

“Nonsense. It was an accident.”

“An accident?” Bo-Katan scoffs incredulously, looking away.

Maya steps forward. "Yes. I'll remind you everyday if needs be, because we’ll get through it together, right? You’ve got us. You’re not alone.”

A soft sob escapes Bo-Katan, and Maya swiftly closes the gap between them, pulling her into an embrace. Bo-Katan returns the hug, arms coming up to wrap around her back, and buries her face in the crook of Maya's neck.

A contented smile graces Ursa's face, and she turns to Ahsoka gratefully. "Thank you again, Ahsoka."

Her gaze slipping back onto the warm scene in front of her, Ahsoka returns the smile. "Happy to help."

**Author's Note:**

> Ahsoka having to bail out a drunk and angry Bo-Katan from a bar fight that she starts sounded like a fun idea, so here you are. Also, RIP Satine.
> 
> Mando'a translation:  
> Ner vod: my friend  
> K’oyacyi: good luck  
> Cyar'ika: beloved


End file.
